If you’re a Harry Potter fan, you can only dream of riding on the Hogwarts Express and arriving at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. While these things might just be the fictional musings of a writer transferred onto paper, we can always make up what they look up in our imaginations, but the movies help bring some of it to life. Imagine the shock of a family on vacation when the train we’ve all seen as the Hogwarts Express in the movies, shows up to rescue them.
The Cluett family was vacationing in the Scottish Highlands and were enjoying a day out canoeing when they were swept away in a swollen river. Thankfully everyone was okay, just a little soggy. Rather than try and walk back to their car across some pretty boggy land, they called the local authorities to see if they had any suggestions for what they could do.
The police offered up a steam train called The Jacobite that was used in the Harry Potter films as the Hogwarts Express to pick up the family. The Jacobite is used for taking tourists on excursions along the West Highland Railway Line. It even crosses the Glenfinnan Viaduct which is also featured in the movie.
The Cluett’s, Jon and Helen, have four children aged six, eight, ten, and twelve. They had taken their kids on a half-term break to go camping, and they were sleeping in a bothy in Essan. In order to get to their location, they could either take a very long and arduous walk out to the bothy or canoe there in 10 minutes. Since they had a canoe, the decision was obvious. Unfortunately, once they’d settled into their home for the night and gotten their canoe tied up appropriately, the stream had a mind of its own. The stream overflowed overnight and their entire area was underwater. Even though he had tied their canoe to some rocks, they had somehow become separated, and the canoe had drifted away.
After determining that a three-mile walk with young children was out of the question, Mr. Cluett called local authorities, and they arranged for the train that usually runs along the railway line to make an unscheduled stop. The family hurriedly packed up their belongings so they would be able to meet the train on time. Cluett said they were all a little down because of the loss of the canoe, but he said that as soon as the kids saw the “Hogwarts Express” coming and all of the sadness left their faces, he felt better. A disappointing situation turned into a fun adventure for the whole family.
They rode the train to the next stop on the train’s schedule, and from there Cluett was able to get his car. Overall, this story has a happy ending, but Mr. Cluett is still hoping for a reunion with his canoe. He’s asking if anyone sees the red canoe to let him know!
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Source: BBC News
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